Compressibility and high-pressure phases of metal oxides

There is a current interest in the derivation of the parameters that define the equation of state (EOS) of polymorphs that are unstable under room conditions [1]. We report the results of a combined experimental and theoretical investigation on the stability and the volume behavior under hydrostatic pressure of the rocksalt (B 1) phase of ZnO. Synchrotron-radiation x-ray powder-diffraction data were obtained from 0 to 30 GPa. Static simulations of the ZnO B 1 phase were performed using the ab initio pertubed ion method and the local and nonlocal approximations to the density-functional theory. Nanostructured ZnO will be compared with bulk material.